The study's findings are particularly welcome news for the developing world. When primary treatment fails, doctors must turn to second- and third-line drugs. In resource-poor locales, these are much more expensive and difficult to obtain. "In such settings, only one or two regimes are normally available, which results in disastrous consequences when these regimes fail," according to a commentary published with the study.

Advertisement

The news, however, comes with caveats:

While the British patients typically started therapy early, the rate of failure was higher for those who started treatment after their CD4 cell levels fell below 200. In developing nations, AIDS drugs are rarely administered before CD4 cells fall below 200.

Among patients who failed on the three-drug cocktail, 90 percent showed resistance to seven first-line drugs, and 58 percent of those failed on second-line therapies as well.

The Body is a service of Remedy Health Media, LLC, 750 3rd Avenue, 6th Floor, New York, NY 10017. The Body and its logos are trademarks of Remedy Health Media, LLC, and its subsidiaries, which owns the copyright of The Body's homepage, topic pages, page designs and HTML code. General Disclaimer: The Body is designed for educational purposes only and is not engaged in rendering medical advice or professional services. The information provided through The Body should not be used for diagnosing or treating a health problem or a disease. It is not a substitute for professional care. If you have or suspect you may have a health problem, consult your health care provider.